


Never Meet Your Heroes (Or Maybe Do, Who Knows What'll Happen)

by eviscerates



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward friendship that turns into awkward relationship eventually, Gen, M/M, Mainly just for fun this fandom has so little positive-centric fic, No sexy or blatantly shippy stuff but it is shippy I promise, Requited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-05
Updated: 2014-06-05
Packaged: 2018-02-03 13:29:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1746380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eviscerates/pseuds/eviscerates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A result of me and my boyfriend joking about Newt being a Striker Eureka and Chuck Hansen fanboy, and what would do if he actually got to hang out with Chuck, who he's had a huge crush on since forever. The rest is history - Or science, as it were.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Meet Your Heroes (Or Maybe Do, Who Knows What'll Happen)

**Author's Note:**

> There's obviously canon divergence here, as I don't think Chuck and Newt ever actually speak more than two words to each other in canon and also, I have no clue how Fiend was actually killed or if they ever even mention it. Set in an AU where Newt's stationed at the Sydney Shatterdome pre-Jaeger revolution, most likely, but open to anyone's interpretation, of course.

A knock roused Chuck out of his sleep, and he banged his head on the wall like he always did when he jerked out of bed. He was instantly in mission-mode - _Roll out of bed, where's my fucking shirt, there it is, Max move there's kaiju to kill activity in the breach something's wrong with Dad_ \- And opened his door to come face to face with Newt, who looked like he'd just rolled out of bed in a Beastie Boys t-shirt and Godzilla boxers, looking way too enthusiastic for four in the morning.

  
"Hey! Hey, hey, Chuck, buddy, sorry if I woke you. I've been up all night reviewing feeds of kaiju kills, trying to figure out what makes them tick, so to speak, and I came across Striker's drop in Acapulco, you know, against Fiend? Not your first solo drop, but that thing was so huge, and you punched it's head clean _off_! Like, off, man! That's never been done before? Can I come in?"  
  
Chuck just stared at him, his adrenaline at thinking he was getting called for a kaiju attack fading and settling into confusion.

  
"What the fuck," He stated, as Newt pushed past him and shoved the tablet, which was playing a YouTube video of Striker's battle with Fiend off the coast of Mexico, at Chuck's face.

  
"Do you see that? Do you _see_? It won't go down from missiles to the godamn brain but you - You just power up the elbow rocket and wham! Bam! Thank you ma'am no more head! Did you see it?"

  
Newt's fevered commentary is punctuated by petulant shoves of the tablet, which Chuck thinks he is supposed to take but doesnt, at his chest.

  
"Yeah. I saw it, Newt." Chuck rubbed his eyes, wondering why he didn't pick the scrawny git up by his shirt and throw him into the hall. "I was there. I _did_ it."

  
Newt looks almost crestfallen for a moment as he takes the tablet back and Chuck almost feels bad about crushing his dreams before he starts back up again.

  
"Of course you were! I just want to know - What was going through your head? What made you think, 'I'm going to forgo all this advanced weaponry and _punch_ this kaiju in the face?'" His arms were spread out to the sides, all his stupid tattoos visible, and Chuck vaguely considered punching him.

  
Instead, he just stared incredulously. "Did you come all the way down here at four in the bloody mornin' to criticize the way I kill kaiju? Did I punch it too hard and break the valuable cortex brain whatever that you wanted to study?"

  
Newt instantly looked apologetic, almost dropping the tablet as he waved his arms around, and Chuck nearly had to move back from being struck by a pinwheeling limb.

  
"No! No, God no, you're the kaiju killer, that's you, not me! It was just so inventive! No one's ever killed a kaiju like that to date!" He sounded so excited, like a little kid who just saw swore he saw Santa fly across the sky on Christmas. It was making Chuck tired.

  
"Punching is inventive?" His voice sounded bored, and once again, he wondered why he hadn't drop-kicked Newt out of his room to go back to bed, where Max was laying, still on his back, snoring. _Traitor_.

  
Newt, however, nodded enthusiastically and began to pace the room. "Oh, hell yeah! I mean, jaegers have some of the most advanced weaponry known to man, dude. Striker's got those missiles, and the sting blades, god knows what else. And you throw a punch! And it packed a hell of a wallop, too, I mean look at this!"

  
His last exclamation was stated with authority as the tablet clattered to Chuck's desk with a bang as he wrapped both his tattooed hands around Chuck's, yes, impressive, bicep.

  
"Oh, god," Chuck said to the otherwise empty room, trying to neatly step away from the scientist. He was only wearing the sweatpants he'd fallen asleep in and a tank top, and Newt seemed way too handsy of a person for his taste.

  
"I know! Look at the size of this thing! You killed a category four with this bicep. Shame about Fiend, though, you know..." He was staring at Chuck's arm muscle with almost obsessive interest, and Chuck felt his ears get hot.

  
"Look, that was me, yeah, but I was in Striker. Can you -" He stopped, giving his arm a jiggle as he tried to dislodge Newt and edge to the door all in one step, failing in both respects.

  
"Can I measure it? Oh, god, nevermind. Sorry, too personal? How much can you bench press?" Newt was now circling Chuck like an overpersonal dingo closing in for the kill.

  
"I don't know." A lie, he could bench press three-fifteen on a good day, had to for all his physicals. "Look, it's four in the morning, could you -"

  
Newt stopped, his eyes growing wide behind his glasses, and Chuck almost thought he'd offended him before Newt nodded, looking almost serious. "Yeah! Yeah, God, totally. You probably need your sleep, you can totally come into my lab tomorrow. I'll get everything all set up, show you the ropes!"

  
"Oh, god. I didn't -"

  
"It'll be great! I've been trying to get a real pilot in with me for some tests but they all claim they have something else to do. Sure, whatever, but what could be more interesting than -" He launched into a long-winded explanation about kaiju and body temperature and ratios and Chuck was lost two seconds in.

  
"-and don't bring your dad, okay? I know he's a legend and all, blah blah blah, but he can be so uptight. Besides, I'd much rather have you!" He ended his tirade with a smile, retrieving his tablet (Chuck could see the screen was already cracked from a previous, obviously more sinister accident with the ground) and looked at Chuck with an expectant expression.

  
No one ever asked for Chuck alone, he was used to getting the Hansen duo extrordinaire everywhere, and he eyed Newt suspiciously.

  
"Why? Why just me?"

  
There was a silence almost a few seconds too long, Chuck got the dinstinct feeling Newt wasn't telling him something, which clearly was not like him.

  
"What? No. Nothing. No reason. He just doesnt seem like he'd be that into it, you know? I mean, bring him if you want, but you were the one behind the punch that knocked Fiend's block off, so..." He trailed off, passing his tablet from hand to hand.

  
Chuck looked at the smaller man with a mixture of disbelief and something that was almost respect for the whacked-out science nut. He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his face.

  
"Fine, whatever. Tomorrow. Don't expect me to care about your schedule or when you have to give a kaiju tentacle a flu shot or what the hell ever, I'll come by when I come by." His voice was gruff, but he had to force it to be that way for once. He had no clue why he was even giving this idiot a chance when he'd probably try and surgically attach a kaiju eye-stalk to his famous bicep and videotape the results.

  
Newt, however, looked pleased despite his harsh tone. "Great! So great. Promise you won't get bored. And thanks so much, dude. I mean, I've been wanting to hang out with you ever since you first got in Striker, I have a poster of you up on my -" He stopped, suddenly, eyes going wide as saucers at the almost amused expression on Chuck's face.

  
Newt shoved past him without another word, wrestling with the door and almost braining himself in the head with the heavy metal in the process. "See you tomorrow Chuck thanks for agreeing come by whenever see you sorry for waking you bye!"

  
This was all said in one, feverish breath before the door slammed shut, causing Max to sit up and huff out a chuffed bark at the noise. Chuck rolled his eyes and sat back down on his bed, slowly sinking against the wall. As he stripped off his shirt, flopping back onto his pillows with Max nestled into his side, he told himself he didn't have to go. He probably had better things to do anyway than hang out with some overenthusiastic science nerd. He cut the light next to his bed and pulled the covers up thinking maybe, maybe, if he was bored enough, he'd show up tomorrow. _Maybe._


End file.
